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Today on Broadway: Monday, June 30, 2025
00:18:36
Former ‘Phantom’ stars to return for immersive spin-off, Solea Pfeiffer to return to ‘Wanted,’ ‘Back to the Future’ on a cruise ship Since 2016, “Today on Broadway” has been the first and only daily podcast recapping the top theatre headlines every Mon...
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- [00:59]
Matt Tammanini
C mobile.com welcome to Today on Broadway for Monday, June 30, 2025. I'm Broadway Radio's Matt Tammanini and I'm.
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Grace Aki
Tell Me on a Sunday podcast. Grace Aki.
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Matt Tammanini
Grace. We are heading into a week that will end with the 4th of July on Friday. So we are not expecting a ton of news throughout this week as people are likely already off at the Hamptons and doing all that fun stuff that all of those big Broadway execs do. So they don't have time to put out press releases. But we will be here throughout the week bringing you either whatever news is available or maybe having some deep, insightful discussions that you obviously do not want to miss. But stick with us throughout the week, both here on the regular feeds and over at patreon.com broadwayradio broadwayradio.com patreon following the 4th of July, we will release a new kind of Patreon schedule that I'm working on. That should be fun. So stay tuned for that and follow along with everything we've got going on on both of the feeds. But we're going to start, Grace with some news that has kind of been leaking out. They're finally starting to give us some information about this Masquerade Phantom of the Opera revival splash spin off. Last week while I was gone, James Marino talked about the fact that Diane Paulus is going to be directing that show, which to me is interesting because why have they not been telling us that ahead of time? It would have given me a much more confident feel about that show to know that a director of her caliber was directing it. And now they have finally released a huge swath of stars who are going to be involved in the show. The problem is is they haven't really told us who anybody is playing, although we can certainly infer by some of them what parts they are going to be. So let's dive into this Grace, because it is a big group of people and I'm not going to name all of them, but I will have the link in the show notes if you want to check everybody out. But here are some of the familiar names and that you might know. And Grace, please feel free to tell me if there are others that I have missed in this list. But you will recognize some names as Nicholas Edwards, Josh Creedy, Raymond J. Lee, Telly Leung, Betsy Morgan, Hugh Panero, Kyle Scatliff, Paul Adam Schaefer, Jeremy Stoll, Kelly Ann Voorhees, Nick Walker and Anna Zavelson. Obviously there are a number of people out of that list that have deep, long running roots with the original Phantom of the Opera. Hugh Panero is the longest running Phantom in Phantom history. Jeremy Stoll has also played the Phantom. Kaylee Ann Voorhees has played Christine in the past. This goes to the fact that we talked about before, Grace, that they're most likely going to be having multiple people playing these roles. Either that's part of the show or that is just the nature of the immersive part of this production. But we don't know much else about who these people are going to be in terms of their characters outside of just assuming that people who have played the Phantom in the past are going to play the Phantom. And from what I understand, Telly Leung, Nick Walker, also Phantoms and as Appleson, clearly she is going to be a Christine, I assume. But other than that it's really still pretty murky and unsure, which I guess is part of the whole deal with this entire immersive masquerade.
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Grace Aki
Grace yeah, I think that what I love that you're bringing up Hue Panera because like it was kind of buried at that and I'm like, I'm sorry, that's the biggest Phantom like, gag of all of this. Like, it's crazy. I think that there's going to be multiple phantoms and multiple Christines going on it, you know, simultaneous times. I don't, I don't have that in sight, but it feels like that's the case because of the amount of different talent. Like, I don't believe that Hugh Panero is going to be playing, you know, the monkey in the beginning or, you know, Nick Walker is playing the chandelier. Like, I don't think that that's, you know, what it is. So, yeah, I. Exciting. But I do, I do agree with you that I would have loved some of that info at the top versus kind of like the slow burn of the, oh, here's what I've learned next about this production. And then it's like they put up a sign somewhere, you know what I mean? Like, I, I think that, I think that this is much more compelling and probably more of a ticket grab than the rest of the info that's come out, which is very exciting and I love, I love this cast so far. I think that it's really, it's a well rounded group of people.
- [05:29]
Matt Tammanini
Yeah. And one of the things that, as you kind of were mentioning there, the slow drip of news, but also by using influencers to kind of get that information out, is that our friend Ben has been doing a ton of deep dives into some of the releases and everything. And it does seem like, yes, this is a six week, kind of like a preview period and then there are more tickets are going to go on sale. They have also released, released the information that at one point it was going to be required that you brought your own mask or purchased one there. Apparently now they have acquiesced to the roars of the ticket buying public and masks will be provided. There was also information originally that it was going to be 21 and older and there was going to be like champagne included in there. There are apparently now added into the schedule some performances that are 16 and over and instead of champagne necessarily, there will also be like sparkling cider or something that they will give to people of legal consumption age. So there does seem to be elements of this that are still adapting and on the fly and we're just going to have to keep paying attention. I do want to note also when they announced the cast that they also included the creative team and as has been noted in a couple different places, the creative team mixes a lot of people who have experience with immersive new age theater type things with Broadway folks. As well. You have some names that you are going to know from Broadway right away, like Scott Pask and Emilio Sosa. And then you're going to have some names of folks that maybe you don't know but have been involved with things like Sleep no More and stuff like that in the past. So it really is looking like they have a much better team than I assumed they did. And that's only because we are now. You know, they're announcing the or they're releasing the tickets today on June 30th and they are just now releasing these details. I don't know that I understand or agree with that philosophy, Grace, but it does seem like this is a much more well rounded and solid production than I think some of the early days led us to believe. All right, let's get into some news of a production that has also been in the works for quite a long time, but has actually had performances in the past before working its way to Broadway. This is the show that was once known as Gun and Powder, now known as Wanted for a number of different reasons. Over the course of this show they have had a number of different casts come in and out. It was initially Gun and powder in Washington D.C. it was led by Soleil Pfeiffer and Emmy raver Lampman. Then when it went to Paper Mill Playhouse, still Gun and Powder, it was Lisi LaFontaine and Sierra Renee. Now we know that as the show is being called Wanted and looking to come to Broadway in 2026, it seems like we know who is going to be the stars of that show and they're taking one of the stars from each of those runs, although one of them was actually a standby in the first production. And it looks like Solea Pfeiffer and her IRL BFF Lisi LaFontaine are going to be playing the sisters at the center of this story because they a workshop presentation last Thursday in New York City of the show. They were joined by some Tony nominees, Will Swenson and Jeanette Baerdel as well as a number of other great folks including Reed Campbell, Aaron Harrington, Tiffany Mann, Mimi Scardula, Giselle Soleil Ayaan, who I've seen on tour a couple times do some great stuff. She was a standby in the Paper Mill production. So this show is one that has been working its way to Broadway for a while. I know a lot of people have really enjoyed it in its previous incarnations and it looks like they are still working on so much so that they have actually released the first single from the show. It is available on all of the platforms that you can get it on. It features Solea and Lisi. It is actually called Gun and Powder. It was originally the title song, but now it is just one of the big songs from the forthcoming album Wanted, the studio ep. But it now seems that a lot of the questions that I have have been answered by who is going to be a part of it, and this is one to keep an eye on for. I'm assuming this is going to be aiming for spring of this year. I don't think they're like saying fall of 2026. So when you start thinking about what theaters are open, what theaters are going to be occupied for this next season, start keeping Wanted in that mix because it certainly seems like they are on this, the next step of being officially a part of this coming season.
- [09:51]
Grace Aki
I want to say that I saw Gun and Powder at Paper Mill Playhouse and the friend that I went with also just recently went to Recent Reading Workshop, et cetera, and said that they had really enjoyed the show at Paper Mill, but they said that this version of it makes them so much more excited about its Broadway run. They said that it was they they did some rewriting. The casting is different. Like they, they have made such incredible alterations according to them that made me very excited about the show. So I think that the title, I think that all of the changes that that they are making are only improving and I cannot wait to see whatever comes out of that.
- [10:35]
Matt Tammanini
That's very good to hear. We've seen so many shows over the years be like we're reworking. We're going to be a completely new show and back and better than ever when we make it to Broadway. And they've made like two subtle changes that nobody would ever have known even if they've seen the previous version. So to hear that they are actually taking the time to put in the effort to make it the best show possible is certainly gratifying. All right, one last pretty big show. In casting news stuff, it's it's not necessarily the stars of the show, but we found out the entire cast and ensemble for the upcoming musical Saturday Church, which will be playing at the New York Theater Workshop starting at the end of the summer. This is a musical that features songs both new and old by iconic pop writer and recording artist Sia. We already knew some of the stars, Jay Harrison G and Dakina Kalakongo, Bryson Battle and others that are going to be a part of it. They have now announced the rest of the cast. Before I get into those, I do want to also mention that previously Michaela J. Rodriguez had been announced as starring in the production, but she has had to pull out because of scheduling conflicts and she is now going to serve as a creative consultant and producer for the show. But joining the cast will be a few names that you might have heard of Primo the Ballerino who was in cast, the Jellicoe Ball, Kristalln Lloyd, Kareem Marshall, Fernell Hogan, Michael Samory George and others. We will have the complete list of that cast in the show notes. But I also want to mention like wanted Saturday Church has released a couple songs to go along with that. The first is Are There Any Queens in the House? Which is performed by Jay Harrison G. And then Sunday featuring basically the whole cast. This is a small little ep. They are two songs. Are There Any Queens in the House? Is newly written specifically for the show. So if you want to check those out, we will have the link for them in the show notes. All right, Grace, let's take a second to step away from the news and talk about our sponsor for this week, surfshark. All right, Grace, pull back the curtain a little bit. We are recording while I am still in Las Vegas, which means that not only have I had to deal with the time difference going back and forth between talking to people in the Eastern time zone like you, but also about with all of my shows and all of the sports that I have been trying to keep up with while I am out of town. And thankfully I have had surfshark here to help me along with those ways because it is so annoying when you're trying to watch, especially for me, a sporting event that is specific to your area. But then when you go out of town you are hit with that dreaded, you can't watch it here. This is not available in your region. Fortunately for me, surfshark has the ability to get around all of those GEO restrictions and lets me watch whatever I want, whenever I want from wherever I want. And how it does that is it lets you change your virtual location so you can watch any game, any match, any TV show, any movie, whatever you want to watch from wherever you are. And it is something that I know, Grace, that you use quite a bit as well when you are trying to watch stuff from around the world.
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Grace Aki
Yeah, here's the thing guys. Love island usa it's killing me. I don't know what to do with these people anymore and I need to take a break. I need to watch Love island uk. Here's the thing like I can't be mad at those people. That time has passed. But thanks to Surfshark vpn, I can actually like change my location and actually see some of these international TV shows and films I may have missed out on. Because one thing about me is that I'm chronically online and I have to watch everything that's ever happened.
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Matt Tammanini
And what makes Surfshark even better is as I'm here out in Vegas at a hotel, Surfshark also protects your connection on public wi fi. Whether I'm watching a game while I'm at a poker table or whether I'm at the pool trying to keep up on all of the social media or try to do a little bit of work in the hotel room, surfshark keeps everything locked down to keep me safe when I am away. So it's time to take control of your online security. Try Surfshark risk free today and enjoy their 30 day money back guarantee. Go to surfshark.com tob for four extra months of surfshark. That's code tob@surfshark.com the URL and code can be found in our show notes. All right, let's get back into a little bit of show news before we wrap up. Wrap up. Last week, Playwrights Horizons announced that Jordan Tannehill's show Prince is being extended yet again. The show had originally been set to continue through July 13, and it is now scheduled to play through August 3. This is a show that has gotten tons of buzz around it. It stars Rachel Crowe K, Todd Freeman, David Greenspan, Jason Vesey and others. This is one that I know a lot of people have been excited about, so if you haven't had a chance to check it out, please do. And then not like I said, it's the fourth of July week, so there's not really a whole lot going on in the theatrical schedule this week. But I do obviously want to mention that on Sunday we had a number of shows on Broadway close. Those include Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends, Real Women have Curves, Dead Outlaw, and the Picture of Dorian Grace. So sending our best to everybody involved with those shows. And then tonight over at New World Stages, we have the official opening of Heather's new musical, one that I am excited to check out. At some point this summer. I'm gonna have to come up to see that. I'm gonna hopefully time it up with the opening of Mamma Mia because I feel like Heather's and Mamma Mia, while they have no real connection, they feel like Shows that should be seen on a trip together. So I'm looking forward to seeing those reviews when they come out tonight. Grace, anything else on on your schedule that you're looking forward to this week?
- [16:12]
Grace Aki
I just want to say that if I haven't talked about it already because it was open, Beau is playing at the out of The Box Theatrics, 154 Christopher St. Until July, I believe. I loved it. I love Matt Rodin. I think that he's the star of everything he's in. I don't know why he's not more of a star at this point. I need that to change. It's really an excellent musical and if you are fatigued of Broadway tickets, whatever that might mean for you, you should also be heading downtown and supporting downtown theater. Not only that, but also at the East Village basement, there's a show called out of Order happening. I have not seen it yet, but I am going to see that this week, so I'll let you know how I feel about that. But all of the feedback that I've gotten from friends and Pat, I like have really enjoyed it. So I just want to remind everybody, also tickets for Ginger Twinsies is on sale. So there's tons of downtown theater to see this summer and I just don't want us to forget that in the lull of the Tony Awards.
- [17:08]
Matt Tammanini
Yeah, absolutely. All right. Speaking of things that I don't want to, I don't think we can lose in the hubbub of everything that is happening. As you all know, I enjoy a good cruise. And because of my loyalty to Royal Caribbean, I have been invited to go on the Star of the Seas two weeks before its official launch. So my brother and I are going to go on a test run. We are not doing any ports other than Perfect Day at Cococay, which is Royal Caribbean's private island. The reason I mentioned that is that that ship is going to have Back to the the Musical on it. So I am so eager to see how they adapt that show with that tech for a floating ship. And on Friday they released some behind the scenes looks at the audition process and the rehears. So I have that video in the show notes if you want to check that out. And then also I'm just gonna say tonight I am flying back. I'm actually flying a red eye back home from Vegas on Sunday night. I land early on on Monday morning. But I'm gonna have to get some rest because on Monday night I am going over to the Renaissance Theater, which is a pretty fun Experimental theater company. They're having a fundraiser kind of gala thing where Lachanze is performing. So I'm gonna see Lachanze perform tonight. So I'm very excited. If you are in Orlando and want to see her, I link to that in the show notes. All right, that's all that we have for today. Thanks for listening to today on Broadway. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, odwayradio. And if you want everything that Broadway radio does, head over to patreon.com broadwayradio Grace, where can people find you?
- [18:42]
Grace Aki
Oh, you can find me at Graceaki.
- [18:44]
Matt Tammanini
Wait, you can find you where?
- [18:47]
Grace Aki
At Grace Aki.
- [18:48]
Matt Tammanini
That. Wait, what? How is that.
- [18:50]
Grace Aki
I know after five. After five years, it is not at It's Grace Saki. It is at Grace Aki. Thank. Thank you, Meta, for allowing my change.
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Matt Tammanini
Okay, so here's the. Here's the question. Is it at Graceaki on everything now or is like.
- [19:05]
Grace Aki
No, no. One thing at a time, Matt.
- [19:08]
Matt Tammanini
Okay, so on Instagram, it's at Graceaki.
- [19:12]
Grace Aki
Yes. But also at. On threads, it's the same. It's Grace Aki. And then on TikTok, it's at. It's Grace Aki. But hopefully you'd still be able to find me if you search that name.
- [19:22]
Matt Tammanini
Yeah, I think so. All right, everybody, have a wonderful Monday. We'll be back to talk to you tomorrow.
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Zoe Saldana
Not right now. @ T Mobile.
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Zoe Saldana
That's okay.
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Customer
I don't really have much in my purse. Oh, let's see. Hand sanitizer. It's lavender.
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Zoe Saldana
I'm good. Seriously.
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Customer
Let me check this pocket. Oh, mints.
- [20:06]
Zoe Saldana
Really, I'm fine.
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Customer
Oh, I have raisins. I'm a mom. Wait, wait one sec. I've got cupcakes in the car.
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It's our best iPhone offer ever. Switch to T Mobile, get a new iPhone 16 Pro with Apple intelligence on us. No trade in needed. We'll even pay off your phone up.
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To 800 bucks with 24 monthly bill credits. New line, 100 plus a month on experience beyond Finance Agreement 999.99 and qualifying boarded for well qualified plus tax and ten dollar connection. Charge payout via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days credits and imbalance due if you pay off earlier. Cancel CT mobile dot com.